Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:
The solution is simple - you just have alternate stadiums nominated should the home team also be the host. Yeah, it makes it slightly harder for all the gravy train corporate types because they'd have to change their hotel from Munich to Paris (or wherever) but the final shouldn't even be about them, it should be about the competing clubs. Until this week Chelsea and Munich fans didn't even know they'd be in the final, so they've got to make quick arrangements. If the corporate types want to go those arrangements shouldn't be beyond them either.
Even though that's an honourable and agreeable approach, logistically it wouldn't work. It's not just the corporate freeloaders to consider it's the infrastructure that supports it; UEFA having to pay to hold a booking for one stadium that they won't be using, selling tickets within the host country, arranging/negotiating television deals/coverage, hotel availability, the labour planning that goes into every single business that supports the event (e.g. bars, restaurants, airports, trains, cameramen, escorts) and
all that within a month? I'm not sure one city would book out it's city's hotel rooms, conference space etc if it was a 50/50 call that it wouldn't get it and who would insure them against such odds?
You're right in saying it's silly but if UEFA want to hold these events in iconic cities it has to run the risk of a home team appearing. The only solution is to avoid the obvious contenders like Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester, Munich, Milan and plump for no-hopers in places like Scandanavia, Austria, Greece, Albania, Poland or go for less obvious choices if they want it in one of the former medieval empire countries e.g. Malaga, Hamburg, Turin, Newcastle, Birmingham, Scotland.
